MANILA, Philippines—Flashing its season-long dominant form, San Beda repulsed St. Benilde-La Salle Green Hills, 69-61, Thursday to capture a record 19th NCAA basketball juniors title at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Senior guard Francis Abarcar drilled nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and the rest of the squad put up a resolute defensive stand in the stretch to help complete a 3-1 series win for the Red Cubs.
It was also the third straight title for San Beda, which overtook Mapua as the team with the most number of NCAA juniors crown.
“It’s a great feeling because we made history today,” said San Beda coach Britt Reroma. “This team has gone through a lot, but the players showed a lot of heart.”
The Red Cubs swept all their 18 games in the elimination round and got a 1-0 lead in a best-of-five finals as incentive for their feat.
They only needed one lifeline as San Beda took Game 2, 74-73, before finally nailing the record Thursday.
With Limuel Patenio providing the spark, the Red Cubs slowly took control in the third quarter and sustained their onslaught with Abarcar at the helm.
Patenio, back from sick bay, gave the Cubs their first double-digit lead with two free throws, 41-31, midway in the third period.
Leading 54-43, the Cubs finally took the fight out of the Greenies with a quick 7-0 blast, capped by a triple by forward Daryl Nazareno, with 6:35 remaining.
The Greenies, playing in the finals for the first time, suffered an early blow when center Angelo Vito injured his knee following a bad fall in the first quarter.
Thomas Torres paced the Greenies with 25 points, but Andre Paras, the hero in the Greenies 85-82 win in Game 1, went scoreless in 21 minutes of action.
The scores:
SAN BEDA 69—Abarcar 18, Nazareno 10, Abatayo 8, Tongco 7, Miranda 6, Patenio 5, Tolentino 4, Bonsubre 4, Babilonia 4, Munsayac 3, Macapayag 0.
ST. BENILDE-LSGH 61—Torres 25, Bonleon 9, Villaruz 8, Yap 7, Barrera 5, Vito 2, Mercado 2, Laigo 2, Ramilo 1, Sta. Clara 0, Paras 0.
Quarters: 17-13, 29-26, 51-40, 69-61